Our immediate objective is the continuation of our preliminary experiments on the occurance of pigment laden cells and hydrolases in the subretinal fluid of eyes with idiopathic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. The cytologic study will include biochemical characteristics of the cells in subretinal fluids observed by light microscopy and fine structure of these cells as observed by electromicroscopy. Investigation on hydrolases will include their purification and biochemical characterization from pooled samples in order to establish their role in subretinal fluid and their relationship to hydrolases in other tissues. The long term objective is a comprehensive analysis of multiple biochemical constituents of subretinal fluid, such as lipid and the wide variety of water soluble compounds, using high pressure liquid chromatography. The biochemical and cytological data from different eyes will then be correlated with the pre and post treatment appearance of the retinal detachment in those eyes in order to shed light on the mechanisms of retinal detachment pathogenesis and aid in our understanding of the varied behavior of detached retinas following surgery. Ultimately it is hoped that this information will lead to an improved appraisal of prognosis in retinal surgery and better medical and surgical means of treatment of potential surgical failures.